from the give-it-up dept

In May, we covered the dispute between CBS and the magazine 48HR. It was one of the rare situations where it really did seem like CBS had a legitimate claim that there could be some level of confusion among some between 48HR's magazine and CBS's television news magazine program, 48 Hours. We had hoped, however, that things could be quickly worked out amicably. Instead, it looks like CBS is being ridiculously overbearing in trying to negotiate an agreement. The 48HR folks have tried to be accommodating, but CBS keeps demanding more:

CBS wants to be able to vet the magazine's new name.

CBS wants to own the magazine's existing URL, 48hrmag.com.

It's unclear how long the network would be willing to allow that URL to redirect to the magazine's yet-to-be-created new website, which Honan said would be the only way to ensure continuity between the debut issue, created the weekend of May 7, and the second issue, which they're planning for the end of August.

This is too bad. It still seems like the initial reaction of too many folks these days is to lawyer up, when a straightforward discussion that doesn't involve "we control everything" could come to a reasonable and amicable solution.